cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/48461867
When Luigi Mangione was arrested for the alleged murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in December 2024, public reaction shocked observers. Far from universal condemnation, many people expressed support. This was especially true among younger people, with polls showing 41% of young adults viewed the murder as acceptable.
So what leads the average person to justify extreme violence? Our recently published research, in the special issue “Understanding violent extremism” of the APA Journal Psychology of Violence, locates the answer in one increasingly widespread phenomenon: workplace burnout.
Mangione’s manifesto cites “corruption and greed” as a source of frustration, a sentiment that resonates widely amid growing dissatisfaction with modern work environments. Recent research shows that broader patterns of systemic frustration and perceived corruption are associated with burnout.
Our study, which took daily surveys from over 600 employees, suggests burnout may quietly fuel worrying attitudes – specifically, the potential justification of violent extremism – towards the perceived source of their distress.
Extreme violence is having a society set up to reward antisocial psychopaths who intentionally let people die so they can get more money.
Yeah, people are getting squeezed harder and harder, well past their breakong points, while the rich keep getting richer and richer. A company can poison an entire county, or deny healthcare to tens of thousands of people and it’s just business. But when people defend themselves, it’s suddenly violence.
I hate the media for portraying radicalism / extremism as a negative thing to be avoided.
This is same as late 1800s when socialism came about. 14+ hour work days, no health care, no pension, no worker’s rights, no HSE resulting in death and maiming, and so on. Then suddenly, the workers start talking, maybe the factory owner doesn’t have our best interests at heart. Maybe we could imagine a better society where people are not expendable. It’s worker run government for all the people, or owner run government for the owners.
Even aside from the justice and retribution angle, killing an active serial killer is for the good of all society. Why should that CEO be treated any different from a mass shooter? Literally nothing about this is extreme.
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